You are not feeling good. You got the sniffles. You are coughing up phlegm.
But you are worried about not working out because you are making such good progress…
What are you nuts? Sick is sick. Your body needs to recover from the illness. But you still want to workout…
Alright, I’ll tell you how to do it if you want but you have to agree not to tell me any nasty details…
Deal?
Between you and me, when I get sick… I’m grumpy. I don’t like doing anything except lie on the bed and read a book.
You can feed me. You can get me drinks… but do not ask me how I feel!
OK. End of rant.
So you are worried about falling behind because the flu is just so… inconvenient.
First of all, try to resist the impulse that you must do SOMETHING. Rest and recovery from the flu should be your #1 priority.
ANd working out while being sick make not be the best idea you ever had…
But still… I try to please all my readers… you know, I give and give and what do I get back? The flu. Yeah, sick people tend to want to give me their misery. Why? I don’t know… perhaps because I am such a cheerful, happy go lucky sort of guy that doesn’t have a care in the world…
That would bug a lot of people but I digress…
So with trepidation I shall tackle this icky subject for YOU, my dear reader.
First of all, it is absolutely OK NOT to workout for a day or two. The only way you can gain all the weight back is if you start eating bad nutritional food. So rule #1 is don’t eat crappy foods. Continue to eat the good stuff.
Second of all (putting on Mr. Obvious cap on), if you have a fever, dizziness, or contagious. Get thee back in bed. You have no business worrying about fat loss while you are very, very sick.
My prescription is as follows: Rest and recover. Give your immune system some time to chase all those germs and viruses right out of your body!
But if you just have a minor cold… sure! It’s OK to do a workout but listen to your body anyway. Do your workout at a less frenetic pace. I find that sometimes activity does allow me to breathe better through my nose.
So here is what you are going to do…
Make a common sense judgment that you are over the worst of your cold or flu. Then ease through your workouts. Start off light for the first day or two. Eat plenty of good quality foods to replenish your body’s store of energy. Remember your body is not only burning fat, it also has to deal with that little thing called the flu.
Getting sick doesn’t mean through out your well-thought out meal plan out the window! Eating pizza, ice cream and other lousy food choices isn’t going to help.
Be sure to drink water and liquids while working out. Just listen to your body. If you start to feel dizzy — stop. If you start to feel weak — stop. If you feel like trying to get me sick — stop!
Or you can try it my way… grumble… tell anybody that bothers you, too much details so they will leave you alone… stay in bed and read a book or watch TV. Try to recover as fast as possible so you can get back on the saddle and start working out again…
And besides… there must be a reason why we tend to get sick a few times a year… I can’t think of a reason but still…